1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lever type connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art lever type connector is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 6-45275, and is identified generally by the numeral 100 in FIGS. 13 and 14. The connector 100 is provided with a U-shaped lever 102 rotatably assembled therewith. A middle portion of the U-shaped lever 102 is formed with a lock claw 105 that is engageable with a locking portion 104 on the top of a mating connector 103.
The lever type connector 100 is connected with the mating connector 103 by rotating the lever 102 to a position where it covers an upper part of the mating connector 103. Thus, the lock claw 105 and the locking portion 104 are engaged to hold the lever 102 in a locking position (see FIG. 14).
To disengage the lock claw 105 and the locking portion 104, an unlocking portion 106 that extends in a direction substantially opposite from the locking portion 104 is pressed to rotate the lever 102 in a direction opposite from the engaging direction while elastically deforming the locking portion 104 upwardly.
With the lock claw 105 and the locking portion 104 engaged, the unlocking portion 106 is exposed. Thus, if an external force acts on the unlocking portion 106, there is an undesirable likelihood that the locking portion 104 and the lock claw 105 will be disengaged unintentionally.
In view of the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a lever type connector in which the engagement by a lever is not inadvertently disengaged.